Some Renton businesses see property damage amid looting reports Sunday

Police say no arrests were made; Walmart is open after being broken into Sunday night.

June 1, 2020 1:30 am
From the Renton Reporter archives.
From the Renton Reporter archives.

Update: Renton is imposing a curfew Monday night amidst growing concern resulting in some businesses that were broken into in Renton and property damage in surrounding cities.

More details will be released soon, according to Renton Police Department.

The original article is as follows:

Ending a weekend that saw property damage to a number of retail stores in downtown Seattle, Renton Police Department reported Sunday evening that people were breaking into stores in Renton, including the Renton Walmart. More significant break ins took place in nearby Tukwila.

No connections have been made to the property damage in Renton and neighboring cities’ protests of police brutality and death of George Floyd that has sparked outrage across the county.

So far, Renton Police Department has reported that the Walmart in Renton was broken into the evening of Sunday, May 31 and several dozen people went inside and took significant amounts of merchandise. Today the Walmart is open, with the entrance where glass was broken remains closed.

When police arrived those who had broken in dropped what they had and fled, according to Renton Police Department Cmdr. David Leibman.

Police also reported Sunday night that people were attempting to steal at The Landing. Leibman stated in an email Monday that the AT&T store was broken into but police locked down the area before any additional damage took place.

A pawn store at Rainier Avenue North was broken into, and Ben’s Loan had a broken window but no entry made. Small business owners in downtown stood outside their stores. There were also a few “random acts of destruction” in Renton including broken windows.

Leibman said he believes no arrest were made last night in Renton related to these incidents. At 11:45 p.m., Mayor Armondo Pavone issued a city-wide curfew that was in effect until 5 a.m. Monday morning.

The civil emergency order from the city announcing the curfew stated that assaults on officers occurred in Renton during the property damage, but Cmdr. Leibman said there are no reports of officers in Renton being assaulted.